٠٠:٠٣:٢٩Thousands of families in Baghdad's al-Rashid Camp rummaged through garbage piles for food and recycled materials as poverty and employment levels soared amid the skyrocketing prices of food.
Footage filmed on Friday shows men, women, and children gathering around a trash truck as it arrives, digging up piles of garbage to collect and sort out metal, plastic, and wooden materials before putting them inside big sacks.
"I dropped out of school when I was 9 years old and began working at the garbage dump. I am now 15 years old," Hassan Hadi al-Omar, a resident of the al-Rashid camp said.
The teenager also noted that his family 'hardly earns 4,000-5,000 Iraqi Dinars which are barely enough to cover the costs of living'. "All of my family work here and we live in a house made of tin and tires," he added
According to the residents, families in al-Rashid camp work from early morning until late evening and are very vulnerable to skin and respiratory diseases due to unpleasant odors and toxic gasses. People also said that they sell most of the collected materials to waste dealers while keeping some of them for personal use.
"We don’t have houses, water, or electricity. We work in al-Rashid camp. Half the families here are starving, we drink water from a well," shared Haj Badri Shazar.
Mountains of garbage reportedly stretch over an area of 5,720 square meters along the al-Rashid Camp highway, southwest of the Iraqi capital. The area was once one of the biggest camps before becoming a massive dump that serves as the 'bread and butter’ for many families.
According to the latest data from the Iraqi Central Organisation for Statistics, Baghdad includes nearly 213 sanitary landfills, of which 149 are not environmentally approved. Thousands of families live in these landfills at risk of pollution and various diseases.
'Families here are starving' - Baghdad's al-Rashid Camp residents rummage through garbage for food amid soaring poverty
Thousands of families in Baghdad's al-Rashid Camp rummaged through garbage piles for food and recycled materials as poverty and employment levels soared amid the skyrocketing prices of food.
Footage filmed on Friday shows men, women, and children gathering around a trash truck as it arrives, digging up piles of garbage to collect and sort out metal, plastic, and wooden materials before putting them inside big sacks.
"I dropped out of school when I was 9 years old and began working at the garbage dump. I am now 15 years old," Hassan Hadi al-Omar, a resident of the al-Rashid camp said.
The teenager also noted that his family 'hardly earns 4,000-5,000 Iraqi Dinars which are barely enough to cover the costs of living'. "All of my family work here and we live in a house made of tin and tires," he added
According to the residents, families in al-Rashid camp work from early morning until late evening and are very vulnerable to skin and respiratory diseases due to unpleasant odors and toxic gasses. People also said that they sell most of the collected materials to waste dealers while keeping some of them for personal use.
"We don’t have houses, water, or electricity. We work in al-Rashid camp. Half the families here are starving, we drink water from a well," shared Haj Badri Shazar.
Mountains of garbage reportedly stretch over an area of 5,720 square meters along the al-Rashid Camp highway, southwest of the Iraqi capital. The area was once one of the biggest camps before becoming a massive dump that serves as the 'bread and butter’ for many families.
According to the latest data from the Iraqi Central Organisation for Statistics, Baghdad includes nearly 213 sanitary landfills, of which 149 are not environmentally approved. Thousands of families live in these landfills at risk of pollution and various diseases.
Thousands of families in Baghdad's al-Rashid Camp rummaged through garbage piles for food and recycled materials as poverty and employment levels soared amid the skyrocketing prices of food.
Footage filmed on Friday shows men, women, and children gathering around a trash truck as it arrives, digging up piles of garbage to collect and sort out metal, plastic, and wooden materials before putting them inside big sacks.
"I dropped out of school when I was 9 years old and began working at the garbage dump. I am now 15 years old," Hassan Hadi al-Omar, a resident of the al-Rashid camp said.
The teenager also noted that his family 'hardly earns 4,000-5,000 Iraqi Dinars which are barely enough to cover the costs of living'. "All of my family work here and we live in a house made of tin and tires," he added
According to the residents, families in al-Rashid camp work from early morning until late evening and are very vulnerable to skin and respiratory diseases due to unpleasant odors and toxic gasses. People also said that they sell most of the collected materials to waste dealers while keeping some of them for personal use.
"We don’t have houses, water, or electricity. We work in al-Rashid camp. Half the families here are starving, we drink water from a well," shared Haj Badri Shazar.
Mountains of garbage reportedly stretch over an area of 5,720 square meters along the al-Rashid Camp highway, southwest of the Iraqi capital. The area was once one of the biggest camps before becoming a massive dump that serves as the 'bread and butter’ for many families.
According to the latest data from the Iraqi Central Organisation for Statistics, Baghdad includes nearly 213 sanitary landfills, of which 149 are not environmentally approved. Thousands of families live in these landfills at risk of pollution and various diseases.